Don't I know you, mister?
by BobbyP
Summary: My take on the end scene of Sweeney Todd. I played Lucy in this once, so the first part is mostly from her point of view.


It had all been so simple in the start. Just him and I. My Benjamin. Then came my darling Joanna. We were happy then. The thoughts of him would help me cope with his absence. The hand entwined in mine, his lips, his eyes. Him. That softened look in his beautiful eyes when he knelt to greet Joanna. The way he would sweep her off her feet and playfully chuck her chin, and she would giggle, and the sound would warm my heart.

Then, it all changed. They took my Benjamin away. And then, the Judge came calling. He told me he could help me. I tried to run for the Beadle, but he was too strong. He gripped my wrist so hard it bruised. I couldn't see, I was crying, blinded by tears as I tried in vain to wrench my arm away. He looked confused, squeezing my wrist tighter. Then a cruel smile twisted on his face.

"Now, now" He purred. "It's okay, I've got you." He chuckled, like I was some foolish child. I begged him to let go, and he released his grip on my wrist, only to grasp my throat. I could feel the tears stinging my face as I struggled for air, but all I could think was_** Joanna. Not here. No. Please, don't hurt her. Please don't do this. Not in front of Joanna**_.

Maybe I said it, I couldn't remember, the air was leaving my lungs too quickly.

"Don't you worry about Joanna" he murmured, planting a kiss on my cheek.

I felt sick.

His grip loosened barely enough for me to gasp a few shallow breaths before the pressure was back. My hands began to grow too weak to fight him off, but I continued to try to pry his hands away. He just laughed.

"It's okay. Joanna is mine now. And so are you. We are going to be very happy together, Lucy darling."

That's all I can remember. I know what happened next. Or at least, I can guess. All I remember is pain. My arms, bruising and bleeding under the force of the man holding me down. My throat, raw from the screaming and the begging for someone, anyone to help me, to take Joanna away from here. But no one came. The Judge was the law, and not a soul dare oppose him.

The next I knew, I stood in the alchemists. I don't recall how I got there, all I know is that what happened next was never a decision. The alchemist smiled weakly as he passed the arsenic over the counter, but his sad eyes betrayed him. He knew all too well what I was going to do.

The first taste was foul, numbing, but oddly soothing. Not long now. Oblivion could not have come fast enough.

Then, I was lost. My eyes opened and I had no idea where I was. All I knew is that I had failed. What had I failed? I was alive. But I didn't want to be. The familiar streets of London suddenly looked far too strange. I lost something. I know I did. Fleet Street.

Fleet Street.

Something to do with Fleet Street.

My arms were empty. Something was wrong. There was someone meant to be here. Someone small. And someone tall.

Beadle. Help me.

The city is on fire. Why does no one see? Why don't they believe me? It's that shop! The smell. Oh God. Help me. Please God help me.

I'm not mad.

I'm not insane.

I'm not crazy.

I swear.

I'm not.

Joanna.

Who's Joanna?

He has them. The people I'm missing are there. The Judge has them. I stand outside the gate, but I won't go in. I can't. I won't. I don't want to go in. I'm afraid.

Such a poor girl.

A foolish barbers wife.

Such a foolish girl.

I wander Fleet Street. I'll find them. Whoever you are, I'll find you. I'm empty. I feel like something has been torn from me. Who are you?

And then, I remember. In the light of the Barber shop, I see those eyes. Those beautiful eyes. The eyes I would look into each night before I fell to sleep. Those eyes I would get lost in. My Benjamin's eyes. Benjamin Baker. I am Lucy Baker. Joanna. My daughter. The judge has her.

I remember.

And I open my mouth to speak. " 'Ere, don't I know you, mister?"

Of course. Of course I do. Benjamin. Benjamin.

A sharp pain across my throat shakes me awake. I panic. He has to know. I have to tell him! _**Benjamin! My Benjamin! It's me, darling! It's me. It's your Lucy. Please, remember me. Please you have to remember. I love you. I love you. Please, Benjamin. Please. I'm here. **_

I try to tell him, but the words are stuck. All I hear is this gurgling, and all I feel is the pain in my throat. _**Oh**_. My throat. It's bleeding. I'm dying...

I don't like it.

Not now. _**Why? Benjamin, why?**_ _**Why did you do this?**_

And then the world goes black.

In the light, he saw her.

No.

_No. _

_**God, No. **_

His Lucy lay among the bodies. But Ms Lovett said she was dead. Long ago. Poisoned. She killed herself.

His words burned with fury, his black eyes fixed on the quivering woman before him.

"You lied to me." He growled.

Ms Lovett shook her head, raising her hands in front of her to hold him off as she backed herself up to the wall.

"No, never lied! She poisoned herself! She did! I never said she died!"

Todd strode across the room, laying the razor flat against her neck, shaking with fury. "You knew my Lucy lived?"

Ms Lovett covered down, eyes pleading with him. "Please" she whimpered.

"Did she beg?"

"Mr Todd, stop..."

"Did she plead for your help?"

"Sir, please, don't..."

With a wicked smile, he leaned close enough to her face that she could feel his breath on her lips. "We all deserve to die. Even you, Ms Lovett. Even I" And with that, he dragged the razor across her throat with a flourish.

Little did he know, that from behind the stairwell, Toby's innocent eyes had witnessed the whole brutal affair. After all his promises, he had failed to protect Ms Lovett just as Todd had failed to protect his Lucy. With as much stealth as a crazed little boy could manage, Toby crept shakily down the stairs, towards the dark figure, now huddled over the body of the beggar woman. The razor lay discarded on the floor.

He cradled her in his arms. How had he failed to see? He buried his face in her golden hair, weeping. Again and again, he whispered "I'm sorry, my Lucy. Forgive me"

He took a last look at the woman he loved, and began to gently sing. A lullaby for the dead. "There was a barber and his wife, she was his reason and his life. And she was beautiful. And she was virtuous. And he was... A fool."

The blade across his throat was not unwelcome. He fell into the arms of his wife. With his last breath, he whispered "Yes, I know you Lucy."

Toby sat back on his haunches, eyes flicking across each corpse. He clutched the razor in his hand, admiring his handiwork as Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street breathed his last breath. His attention quickly settled in Ms Lovett's lifeless corpse. So pretty, he mused, even now. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly, singing to her the lullaby she had soothed him to sleep with only the night before. "Nothings gonna harm you, not while I'm around. Nothings gonna harm you, darling, not while I'm around." He giggled. "What was it, Ms Lovett? Three times? The meat goes three times round the grinder. Slowly. Slowly." And Toby set to work, just as Ms Lovett had showed him.


End file.
